Ambrose Harlow
"In such a cruel world a man cannot become successful and powerful without showing even a bit of cruelty himself. It is simply impossible to think you can change this world if you are weak of heart and unwilling to show the world what real fear is." -Ambrose Harlow to his mother History Ambrose Harlow was born in the House of the Harlow family, a rich noble family living in the village of Kings Grove. They weren't always rich and powerful, but they owned a couple farms in the large field surrounding the forest circling Kings Grove and that's how they made their profit. The members of the Harlow family all worked in the farms themselves, as it was a large family and they all worked hard to earn their money. At the time Kings Grove was just another speck, living in the shadow of the great Holy Palace of Kings which resided within a mile of Kings Grove, and villagers were able to see the towers of the palace from here. Kings Grove was mostly only known for its granary abundance due to the farming populace and forests, so the Harlow family was one of the prime food distributors in the village. The village was overlooked by the Church and the King for the most part, and so it was a place of many crimes and heresy. Ambrose grew up in this village, learning that the family business was all that mattered, and if you didn't supply the Kingdom with food in exchange for money, you would lose your power in the city and risk bankruptcy. This made Ambrose have a deep hatred for thieves and beggers, as to him, they were either trying to sabotage his business or receive benefits without working like Ambrose's family did. When Ambrose's family became rich enough to buy out most of the farms in the village and hire workers to man the farms instead, the Church came to their village and funded the chapel within the village. The church of Kings Grove demanded tax from the villagers to improve it, and had the King's army to back up their demands, allowing them to take, or in Ambrose's eyes, "steal" the food and earnings that the Harlow family had worked so hard for. The church quickly grew in power and influence within Kings Grove over the coming years. This made young Ambrose realise that money and grain wasn't the only way to gain power in this village, there was a far more effective and efficient method: Faith. Ambrose's parents didn't want him going off to be a witch hunter so early, so they used their ever-decreasing power to halt the church from taking Ambrose away at age 12. At age 15, Ambrose willingly joined the church himself to be a witch hunter, and focused more on his faith towards God rather than his physical stats which allowed him to gain very useful abilities in Holy Light. On one particular day at age 17, Ambrose was sent with a squad of other witch hunters to kill a troll that was threatening the nearby travellers on orders of a Seraph. His whole squad, who were as young as him, were all killed in the battle against the beast though Ambrose managed to escape due to his abilities. Since the Seraph that sent these young men to do the mission was a woman, Ambrose thought that women were incompetent, and were too untrustworthy to be put in roles of power such as a Seraph. This made him have a strong hatred for woman working within a church, which he would later prove. At age 18, Ambrose's father unexpectedly died from troll flu, making Ambrose the new head of his family. He wasn't upset by this, as his father was failing at keeping the family business successful, so when Ambrose took over he made sure his family was faithful and donated lots of food and coin to the church to stay loyal in the eyes of the Church. This allowed Ambrose to become promoted to the role of Mentor quickly, but Ambrose didn't stop there and instead went on to become a Seraph in the church, proving that his soul was pure and his heart set on God. As a Seraph, Ambrose managed to pull some strings and have his business bypass the law that forced them to donate to the church, making his business flourish and defeat all its competitors in Kings Grove, and gave his family many benefits, including giving them military power by taxing the villagers (using Church power) and using that money to buy soldiers and become powerful in the eyes of even the Crown. At this point, the Harlow family had obviously stood out in such a mess of a village, and eventually people started to riot, calling out the family for abusing the Church power for their own benefits. This is when Ambrose realised another thing: the collective crowd are the working force, without them you are powerless. So Ambrose consulted with the other Seraphs in the church, and, with suggestive influence from his powers, managed to create several laws and have them approved by all the Seraphs, laws that were particularly cruel and harsh which managed to weaken the crowd with both fear and with physical status. This prevented any sort of riot in Kings Grove against Ambrose's family or the church, and over the decades Ambrose managed to turn the city upside down; the crime rates lowered, the faith of the average villager increased, and the village expanded and became one where the rich ruled over the poor, all completely benefiting Ambrose himself and his family. At age 39, Ambrose is the most powerful man in the village, having made Kings Grove very important, much so that even the Father visits the church within the village at times, and a road has been built to the Holy Palace of Kings. This is a city changed by one untouchable man, a single soul that rules above all: Ambrose Harlow. Personality Ambrose Harlow is not a kind man. Despite his stylish clothes, his faithful soul, and his seeming concern for the well-being of the average Christian, he can be very cruel. He has a calculating business mind, able to risk anything and do anything to keep and increase his power. He has no qualms ordering the deaths of strangers if he believes it is right, and has actual disgust for lowlife criminals. Of course, as a Seraph, Ambrose seems like a holy man who is trying his best to vanquish heresy, but his true intentions lie elsewhere, and he is not a master manipulator, he doesn't pretend to be a nice man, he wants people to fear him, not just him but the Church, as this allows him to cause real change. He understands that the world is a cruel place, and that the men who wish to achieve the best must be equally as cruel. Killing is nothing big to him, all souls are immortal anyway and the world is built by killers, but he believes he is better than them because he wants to change the world for the better, and thus sacrificing a few lifes would pale in comparison to the lives he'll save. Ambrose may seem like a tyrant, as he is known as the Lawmaker and God's Sword for his tendencies to pass very strict laws and punishments in his village, but he is also a good military commander due to his meetings with the Mentors of the City Guard which he uses to defend the city, and his family. Ambrose himself is not entirely heartless, he did the manual labour on the Harlow farms as a child, and the dirty and dangerous work as a witch hunter, which gives him the ability to see from the perspective of the soldiers and the workers. Though rather than giving him a soft spot, he uses this to know what scares people into working, and thus appropriately induce fear into the villagers to keep them working, even without proper payment (he is not one to reject slavery). Ambrose is a very smart man, he is not power hungry, but more "power-cherishing" as he would think, he is always thinking of the best way to improve something in the long run rather than the short term, and despite his overwhelming political power, he does still do hands-on work in terms of witch hunting, when on the field of battle, to increase the motivation of his men. While many men are villains looking to burn the world down, Ambrose Harlow is not one of them... Powers and Abilities Holy Light: As a Witch Hunter and a Seraph, Ambrose has unlocked his soul to be blessed by God's Holy Light which grants him magical gifts based on his personality. His powers of Holy Light are stronger than the average Witch Hunter's, but he is less adept at physically fighting due to his time away from the field. *''Holy Presence:'' This stems from the side of Ambrose that involves intimidation and manipulation. This power allows Ambrose to influence the minds of the beings around him in a single burst, inducing a single emotion, thought or choice into their heads. This can range from making everybody fear him to making people agree with him. The limitations are that it can only affect everyone in a single room, only one thought, emotion etc. can be induced at a time once per hour, and it can't be singled down to one person, meaning everyone around him will feel the same effect. *''Blessed Steel:'' Based on the part of Ambrose that involves his violent or aggressive mind. This power allows for Ambrose to ignite any sword he is wielding with the holy flames of Heaven. It gives the blade a white fiery core, and can shoot out flames with each swing and create explosions of fire with each stab. The fire on the sword comes from within his soul, and thus cannot burn him, only others, but cannot be blocked by simple flame shields created by witches, is able to cut regular swords in half with ease, and causes extra damage to unholy creatures. The sword will only stay ignited for a small amount of time, depending on his ability to hold it alight for a period of time. Ambrose uses this ability on his Damascus steel sword that he carries around with him. *''Heavenly Chains:'' Comes from the side of Ambrose that desires control and prevention of crimes and his imprisonment of criminals. This power allows Ambrose to trap a single being in a stasis that traps them and prevents them from moving. It can also work on a single projectile if he can react in time, and the trap can last for hours. He can only trap one thing at a time, and it must be in seeing distance from him. He can use this to stop attacks coming his way or as a prison to capture people. Equipment *''Faithbringer:'' A Damascus steel longsword owned by Ambrose Harlow, which he carries around with him holstered always; its mere sight inspires faith in all fighters allied with its owner. He had it forged as a symbol of his authority in the Church and carries it with him at all times, especially on the field of battle. It is made of the very rare yet beautiful Damascus steel, with an expensive mahogany wood scabbard. The sword was named Faithbringer as it is a blessed sword that is known for its ability to glow bright when wielded by a faithful soul. The blade is particularly sharp and is never dull as it is sharpened daily, and is constantly shiny with its swirly pattern on the steel. It's very durable, strong, brittle and if it does break, all the pieces can be recalled by the owner and repair themselves, though it can only be destroyed when not imbued with faith and fire. The sword can channel the Holy Light of God through it; Ambrose uses this to ignite the blade with the flames and light of Heaven, and also to channel his Presence through it which increases the stats and motivation of everyone around Ambrose. When Faithbringer specifically is powered by the Blessed Steel ability, the sword becomes brighter than the Sun itself, and gains light-based attacks too, rather than just flames like any other sword. Faithbringer was forged with blessed steel and tempered in holy water, and imbued with the Faith of all the Seraphs of Kings Grove church. This makes it a very powerful weapon, capable of cutting all other swords in half, and if powered by Holy Light, becomes temporarily indestructible and able to cut even immortal swords in half like butter. *''Spare Sword:'' Ambrose carries around two swords with him, his main sword is Faithbringer, but he keeps a second sword holstered on his other hip, in case Faithbringer is destroyed or knocked out his hand. The spare sword is usually disposable, rarely used, and made with castle-forged steel. *''Silver Heart:'' A powerful pistol famously owned by Ambrose Harlow. It is called so because it is mostly made of silver, and carries silver bullets. The gun is holstered on Ambrose's belt, along with a single clip, as he only ever uses it for ceremonial kills or finishers when in a sword clash. The gun is powerful enough to blow someone's brains out, knock someone over, or cause the wielder to fall back if not holding it properly. The bullets it uses are blessed too, and so work well against unholy creatures, especially werewolves. *''Clothing:'' Ambrose Harlow, as a rich nobleman, traditionally wears clothing that resembles that of a Victorian era clothing style for men, sometimes mixed with a steam punk variation. It is typically dark colours, with two sword holsters on each hip, one regular one mahogany, and one concealed holster in his belt that carries his gun. It is terribly disrespectful to show a gun in public, so he hides the holster beneath the folds of his clothes, but also so he can quickly draw it in surprise. He also wears under-clothing plate armour for protection, which makes him appear quite built and strong. He of course wears this outside of a church, as inside he wears a regular Seraph uniform. He also carries around a silver cross necklace in his pocket for identification as a witch hunter, and a single vial of instant-heal potion which is strictly for himself in case he's inches from death, as they are expensive. As all business men should, he carries around a piece of parchment and a pen for sending letters by raven, and also carries a Church Pin which has a pair of silver angel wings and his name engraved for proof of being a Seraph, pinned within his coat pocket.